© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Toto Wolff reveals Mercedes is yet to commit to their 2023 car concept, and adds that it’s “something we really need to decide in the next weeks”.
Mercedes’ has been having problems with their car since the beginning of the 2022 season. This led many to speculate that there was a fundamental issue with the team’s ‘minimal sidepods’ car concept, which is very different from the approach other teams took.
Team boss Toto Wolff says the F1 budget cap is one of the reasons why it’s difficult for Mercedes to make a fundamental change to their car during the season.
“Look at the chassis, we wouldn’t be able to introduce a chassis at this stage of the season,” the Austrian said.
“We could go for [being] massively overweight, which we haven’t been able to dial out because we are trying parts on the car in order to solve our various issues, so we can’t afford that. Full stop.
“What was aimed by introducing the cost cap has absolutely been achieved, that the big teams can’t just throw money at it.”
Wolff then admitted that Mercedes is as of yet unsure which way they’ll go with their 2023 car.
“We haven’t committed [to a concept]. There are still internal discussions going on.
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“It’s quite difficult to say ‘What is a concept?’ Is it the chassis in its current shape? What is that? Is it weight distribution? Is it where you can put the mechanical and aero balance? Is it the bodywork concept?
“All these are different pillars of the car which are evaluated, which could mean some of it goes, some of it stays and that’s what we are looking at at the moment?”
However, Toto adds the team will soon have to commit to a design philosophy for next year.
“There are various cut-off points relating to the various parts of the car that happen in the next few weeks.
“You’ve got to commit to a chassis concept, to a suspension layout, how you do your cooling, your radiators, how to integrate the engine etcetera, etcetera.
“That is something we really need to decide in the next weeks, so September/October maybe, October [at] the latest,” Wolff concluded.
